Out of the Frying Pan
by Semkhet
Summary: The band is in grade 8 and they have been thrust into a world of relationships, jealousy and confusion. Everyone has their own problems to handle, some more serious than others. Everyone's POV.
1. First Day Back

This is my first fanfic, so I don't expect it to be very good. The story is told by all of the band members. I don't own School of Rock, I only own the plots and any new characters. This chapter is a bit boring, but it should get better. Also, I am Australian, so I have had to write this story with my very limited knowledge of American schooling. Please bear with any mistakes I have made or correct them if you want.

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CHAPTER 1 – FIRST DAY BACK

MARTA

Marta was standing at the gates, which led into her middle school. She looked around the school grounds. They were unchanged for the past two years and probably would be for the next year as well. The band were in their last year of middle school, grade 8. Next year, they would be moving on to high school.

In front of Marta stood a very long building constructed of bricks. It was the administrative building. There were several similar buildings, behind this one, only they were shorter and contained classrooms. The ground around the buildings was mainly concrete and asphalt with very little plant life around. Lockers were set against one of the buildings, where students could keep all of their workbooks. Numerous old, wooden benches covered in graffiti, were placed anywhere they could fit.

Just as Marta was about to enter the school grounds, she felt someone tugging her blonde plaits. She turned around to see Katie, Freddy, Alicia and Larry standing there. Freddy was holding on to one of her plaits, but let go quickly when Marta glared at him.

"Hi guys," she said, in her usual bright tone.

"Hey", "Hello", "Hi Marta", were the many replies.

"Another year of horrid teachers and piles of schoolwork" Katie said, slightly annoyed.

"And another year of countless boyfriends, hey Posh" Freddy said suggestively.

Katie responded by slapping Freddy over the back of the head. Since she played bass guitar in a band and was quite pretty, Katie was very popular with the boys. She had a new boyfriend every week or so. However, Katie was a very poor judge of character and most of her boyfriends turned out to be idiots and jerks. Sure, she had a few nice ones, but they never worked out.

"How many are we up to now? Number 57, or is it 58?" Freddy continued, jokingly.

"Spazzy," Katie replied, trying to keep her cool, "you're just jealous because you know I'd never go out with you."

"You'll pay for that one, missy," Freddy said, while trying to grab hold of Katie. But Katie was too quick for him and had already moved out of the way. Freddy chased after her and soon the two of them were running around in the school grounds, far away from Marta, Alicia and Larry.

"They've been arguing ever since we picked Katie up this morning," Larry told Marta.

Marta smiled. Katie and Freddy were always arguing. Just playful arguing, they hardly ever got really angry with each other. Everyone was waiting for Katie and Freddy to get together, but Marta didn't think they would. Katie was Marta's best friend, and she knew that Katie thought of Freddy as an annoying brother.

In fact, Marta knew that Katie liked someone else in the band, but Katie refused to tell her who. Katie was like that. Marta knew that Katie would tell her soon enough. After all, Katie knew who Marta's crush was. Also, a member of the band, well actually he was a roadie, but still. With his red hair and freckles, Marta had liked Marco since 6th grade. Thinking about him made Marta smile even more.

"What are you smiling about?" Alicia asked curiously.

"Uh…" Marta looked around for an excuse, "nothing… just the fact that your boyfriend is heading this way with a bunch of roses and somehow I don't think they are for me or Larry."

Marta saw Alicia quickly look around. And just as Marta had said, there was Gordon walking towards them, carrying a huge bunch of roses. Gordon and Alicia had started going out half way through grade 7, so nearly 6 months now. As far as Marta knew, they hadn't even kissed yet, but everything seemed to be going pretty well. There was rarely a day when Gordon didn't turn up with roses or a poem for Alicia.

"Hello, my sweet," Gordon said, handing Alicia the flowers, "you are looking lovely today." Alicia giggled for a bit before replying.

"I've got to put these in my locker," she said, "will you come with me?"

"Anything for you," Gordon answered smoothly. He took her free hand and together they walked off to the lockers.

"They make such a cute couple," Marta said to Larry.

"Yes, they do," he agreed.

"Do you think the rest of the band is already inside?"

"Not all, Frankie, Billy and the girls are just over there."

Marta looked up to see Frankie punching Billy, while Eleni and Michelle watched.

"Come on, Fancy Pants," Frankie said, "it's just playful punching."

"Stop that," Billy tried to sound firm, but it came out rather weak, "leave me alone."

Frankie ignored Billy and just kept hitting. Marta, who hated bullies, started towards Frankie, but Larry held her back. In an attempt to help himself, Billy formed a fist and brought it up, so that it collided with Frankie's cheek.

Frankie fell back in surprise. Michelle and Eleni were in shock, but quickly recovered.

"How dare you punch Frankie," Eleni said, rolling up her sleeves.

"You'll pay for that," Michelle added, "we'll show you what happens to people who hurt our friends." Michelle and Eleni began to advance on Billy.

"And if you touch him, I'll show you what happens to pathetic bullies!" Marta shouted. Larry let go of her and she ran up to Billy, who was cowering on the ground. She knelt down to check if he was ok.

"Michelle, Eleni," Frankie said, trying to salvage his reputation, "leave him. Beautiful girls like you shouldn't waste time on losers like him."

"Oh Frankie," Michelle said, fluttering her eyelids, "you're too kind."

Frankie grinned and the girls each took hold of one of his arms. Then they walked off into the school grounds, Michelle and Eleni giggling the entire way.

"They're such flirts," Larry said, joining Marta and Billy.

"Are you ok?" Marta asked.

"I am for the moment," Billy smiled, "though, I can't imagine what Frankie will do to me at lunch. But did you see that punch?"

"Yeah, that was so cool," Larry said with admiration.

"And don't worry about lunch," Marta said, "you can come and sit with our group. I'll bet Frankie won't take on Zack, Freddy, Larry and Gordon."

"Thanks," Billy said, "and I'm not sure Frankie would be too confident at taking you on either." The three friends laughed.

"Come on," said Larry, "we better get to class. The bell will ring soon." Sure enough, as soon as they had entered the school grounds, the bell went.

"Bye," Larry waved before walking off. Marta and Billy were in the same class, but Larry was in a different class with Gordon and Eleni.

"See you at lunch," Marta replied, as she and Billy walked, in the opposite direction, towards their class to start another year of school.


	2. Surprises

This is my first fanfic, so I don't expect it to be very good. The story is told by all of the band members. I don't own School of Rock, I only own the plots and any new characters. Also, I am Australian, so I have had to write this story with my very limited knowledge of American schooling. Please bear with any mistakes I have made or correct them if you want.

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CHAPTER 2 - SURPRISES

LEONARD

The bell rang to signal the end of class. Leonard could hear the sighs of relief from most students. Everyone stood up and rushed for the door. Leonard waited for his friend, Marco, who was writing down last minute notes.

"Come on, Marco, I'll let you copy my notes," Leonard said impatiently.

"Thanks man" Marco smiled gratefully and quickly packed up. The boys walked out of the now empty classroom and saw Alicia and Michelle waiting for them.

"Hurry up guys, we've got assembly now" Alicia said.

Assembly took place in the assembly hall, the oldest building in the school. It looked exactly the same as every other building, but was at the very back of the school grounds. There was just enough room in between the back wall of the hall and the school's back fence, for a few teenagers to hang out. That was the place where all the 'cool' kids spent their lunch breaks and where they went when they were skipping class.

When Leonard and his friends reached the hall, they hurried to their seats. The hall was filled with seats, for the students. All the seats were facing a large stage, where teachers sat and delivered their notices. The hall was quite empty at the moment, but when it was filled with students, the hall became quite hot and crowded. After a while, the rest of the students began to trickle in. Leonard saw some of his fellow band members. He waved to Gordon, Larry and Eleni, who came over and sat down with Leonard. Then Tomika, Zack and Frankie found them.

"Summer is sitting with her new friends again," said Zack, sourly.

"Again! That crowd is no good for her!" exclaimed Alicia.

"Tell me about it. The Summer Hathaway I knew would never be late to class like she was this morning," Tomika added.

"Yeah," Frankie agreed, "that crowd is going to turn her into a groupie or something."

"Hey!" Michelle and Eleni cried in unison.

"No offence" Frankie said to avoid being slapped.

The group continued with their chatter. Marta, Billy, Freddy and Katie joined them just before assembly was due to start. Leonard was scanning the crowd, for no reason in particular. He glanced up at the stage.

"Hey!" he called out to the band, "look! It's Mr. S!"

The band looked up at the stage and there was Dewey Finn, sitting next to the school's principal and looking quite nervous.

"His real name is Dewey" Freddy said, trying to be clever.

Katie shut him down rather quickly, by saying "no one cares, Spazz."

Freddy was going to reply with another smart comment, but the school principal stood up and the entire hall fell silent.

The principal's name was Ms. Silverman. Most of the students thought she was quite a good principal. She was rather young and nice. She was more intelligent than most teachers these days and could tell when students were lying or telling the truth. She was also quite calm and friendly, and both staff and students liked her.

"May I have your attention please?" Ms. Silverman said in her usual polite, gentle tone, "thank you. I'd just like to say welcome back to Horace Green Junior High. I hope you all have a wonderful year. And I'd like to introduce Mr. Finn, our new music teacher. Would you care to say a few words, Mr. Finn?"

"Ah…" Dewey looked around, unsure of what to say, "no, that's alright."

Ms. Silverman paused and frowned slightly. But she quickly shook that off and smiled again.

"Ok then," she said, "now you may all go to lunch."

TOMIKA

The hall filled with noise as students left for lunch. Soon only the band members remained, excluding Summer of course. She had obviously gone off with her new friends – the cool gang. They weren't cool, only Summer thought they were. The band members thought they were posers and rebels. And not funny rebels like Freddy. Just plain bad news. Definitely not good for Summer.

"Mr. S!" Michelle called out.

"Hey rockers," he said, jumping off the stage to greet the band.

"Yo Dewey man," Freddy said, arms crossed, "why didn't you tell us you were teaching here?"

"I wanted to surprise you," Dewey replied coolly, "surprise!"

"I knew you were studying to be a teacher, but I never thought you'd be teaching here," said Gordon, a mixture of surprise and happiness in his voice.

"Well, now you do," Dewey said, not quite comfortably with all the attention, "now why don't you go off and enjoy your lunch. I always try to."

"OK"

"Bye, Mr. S"

"Talk to you later"

"See ya at band practice"

The band members slowly left. Finally, only Tomika and Dewey remained. There was something Tomika wanted to talk about. Dewey had helped her before with this sort of problem and she hoped he could her again. Dewey had his back to Tomika and couldn't see her. Tomika tapped him lightly on the shoulder. Dewey jumped a bit, but when he turned around, he calmed down.

"Oh, Tomika, you gave me a fright," he said, "was there something I could help you with?"

"I hope so, Mr. S," she said, "or is it Dewey?"

"You better call me Mr. Finn, otherwise people might want to know why I'm called Mr. S."

Tomika realised that most of the staff and students had not been told about what happened several years ago, when Dewey pretended to be a teacher.

"Right, well Mr. Finn, you remember when we first met? I was worried about my weight and you made me feel better about it."

"Yeah and since then you've slimmed down quite a bit."

It was true. Tomika was still the biggest girl in the band, but much less than she had been in grade 5.

"That's sort of what I wanted to talk about. I may have slimmed down, but I've got a little sister. She is so much smaller than me. And she's smart and popular and all the guys like her. She's everything I want to be. It used to be ok, because I only saw her at home. But now she's started school here and I can't escape her. I can't stop thinking about how much better than me she is."

"Tomika, listen. Just because you're sister is smaller and more popular that doesn't mean she is better than you are. You know, I had this cousin when I was your sister's age. He was basically like a big brother to me. And I thought he was so cool, I wanted to be just like him. I bet that's the same with your sister. She probably thinks you're better than she is. And I'll bet that your sister is not perfect. I'm sure she has some bad points."

"Well, she is a bit of a flirt and she listens to pop…"

"There you go. See she isn't better than you. Anyone who listens to pop is way worse than someone in a rock band. And I'm sure she can't sing nearly as well as you can."

Tomika smiled.

"Thanks, sir. That really helped."

"I'm glad. And I'm really sorry. I would love to talk more, but I have to go to some 'Meet the Staff' lunch. Just remember what I said."

"Ok, bye sir."

"Bye, see you at band practice."

Dewey rushed off out the door and soon Tomika followed, a bit slower. Dewey was right. Her sister wasn't better than she was. Just because she was more popular and prettier and… As Tomika walked out of the hall, she wasn't quite as confident about what Dewey said. Dewey hadn't met her sister. He didn't know how perfect she really was…

LARRY

Zack, Billy, Marta, Katie, Freddy and Larry were sitting on two benches, which were positioned so the group was facing each other. Alicia and Gordon were sitting on the asphalt, having their own private conversation. Frankie, Eleni, Michelle, Leonard and Marco sat on some other benches quite close to them. Frankie, Michelle and Eleni kept throwing dirty looks at Billy. Frankie's cheek was still quite red where Billy had punched him. Tomika was no where to be seen.

"So, what do you think of Mr. S teaching?" Katie asked Zack.

"It should be pretty cool. He's really good at music and he can teach us a lot."

"Zack," Freddy said with feint shock, "sure, it's cool, but not because he can teach us. It's cool because Mr. S will let us get away with so much."

"I thought his name was Dewey," Katie muttered.

"I don't really understand Mr. S," Marta said, "he's a bit weird."

"I agree," Billy added, jokingly, "and he has no sense of style."

The group laughed, remembering their 5th year when Billy really didn't have much of a clue about style.

"That's got nothing to do with it, Fancy Pants," Freddy said, "I'll prove it to you. We can get away with nearly anything."

"Be careful, Freddy," Larry said cautiously.

"I always am."

Larry shook his head. There were many words to describe Freddy, but careful was not one of them. Larry hoped that Freddy wouldn't get himself into too much trouble. But knowing Freddy, nothing would be able to save him from trouble.

Larry looked up and saw Tomika heading towards them. When she reached them, Marta made Billy and Zack move down, so there was room for Tomika on the bench. Alicia took her attention away from Gordon for one second.

"Hey," she said, "where've you been?"

"Talking to Mr. Finn," Tomika replied.

Katie turned to Freddy.

"HA!" she shouted, "you were wrong. It's not Dewey!"

"Yeah, yeah…" Freddy said, blushing slightly, "hey, look at that girl over there."

"Don't change the subject," Katie said, "I'm not finished paying you out."

"No seriously, Katie."

Everyone turned to look where Freddy was pointing. A small, slim girl – she must have been in grade 6 – was talking to some friends of hers. She had very dark skin and her long, black hair was done up in millions of braids. The girl was surrounded by other girls and boys, all who were laughing at some joke the girl must have told. The amazing thing was the girl looked remarkably like…

"She looks a lot like you Tomika," Zack said.

"That's because she's my sister," Tomika said, her voice slightly bitter.

"Oh…" replied Zack.

"HEY!" Freddy yelled, "Tomika's sister!"

"No," Tomika said, getting up and trying to cover Freddy's mouth, "don't do that!"

The girl looked around, past her friends. She saw Freddy waving to her and trying to avoid Tomika. She excused herself from her friends and began to walk over.

"I'm sorry," she said to Freddy, "but do I know you?"

"Uh…not really," Freddy said, not at all put out, "I'm friends with your sister." The girl gave Tomika a look filled with hate and disgust.

"Oh…" she said, "well, my name's Tammin."

"I'm Freddy," he said, completely oblivious to the cold glare that the sisters were giving each other, "and that's Katie, Larry, Alicia, Gordon, Zack, Marta and Billy. Or as I like to say Posh, Mr. Cool, Brace-Face, Road Runner, Zack Attack, Blondie and Fancy Pants."

Most of the group gave Freddy a strange look. For one, most of the band members never used their nicknames. Plus Alicia no longer had her braces, so it made no sense to call her Brace-Face. However, Tammin seemed not to notice.

"You're so funny, Freddy," Tammin said, giggling.

"I try," he replied, smiling, "and please, call me Spazzy." Tammin giggled again.

"Well, I'll see you around," she said, fluttering her eyelids and waving as she walked back to her friends.

"Ok, bye" Freddy said in an almost dreamy tone.

Katie slapped Freddy over the back of the head, immediately bringing him back to the real world.

"Ow!" Freddy cried, rubbing the back of his head, "what was that for?"

"You were flirting with Tomika's sister!" Katie said, slapping him again.

"Was not"

"Were too"

"Was not"

"Were too"

"Was NOT"

"Were TOO!"

"Ok, ok," he admitted, "maybe a little. I mean she is kind of cute." Katie slapped him again.

"My God, Freddy," she said, exasperated, "you are so predictable."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing."

"No, tell me."

"Just that you fall for every pretty girl who will have you. It makes me sick."

Freddy and Katie continued arguing, but Larry had since tuned out. He looked over at Tomika. She looked somewhat downcast. Larry stood up and gently pulled her away from the rest of the group.

"Are you ok?" he asked, frowning with concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Tomika replied, not entirely sure of herself.

"Are you sure?"

"…No. It's just my little sister is so much better than me. She's even got Freddy falling for her and just look at the amount of new friends she has."

"How great a person is, is not measured by how popular they are. It is measured by how kind they are. The fact that your sister only spoke to the so-called 'coolest' of us and ignored the rest proves that she isn't that kind. Remember 5th grade? You stood up for Mr. S. and me That makes you a good person and way better than your sister. At least that's what I think. And isn't it what your friends think that counts?"

"Yeah, thanks Larry."

"That's ok. What are friends for?"


	3. Confusing Crushes

This is my first fanfic, so I don't expect it to be very good. The story is told by all of the band members. I don't own School of Rock; I only own the plots and any new characters. Also, I am Australian, so I have had to write this story with my very limited knowledge of American schooling. Please bear with any mistakes I have made or correct them if you want.

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CHAPTER 3 –CONFUSING CRUSHES 

MICHELLE

The final bell for the day rang. Michelle closed her book, gathered the rest of her things and walked casually out the door. She grabbed her school bag and then went to stand by the classroom door. She was waiting for Leonard. Michelle and Leonard lived in the same street and therefore always walked home together.

Before long, Leonard appeared, talking to Alicia and Marco, who was clearly bothered by something.

"I don't understand," Marco said, annoyed, "I've double checked my answer and it should be right."

"Are you sure?" Alicia asked, "did you check the question?"

"Yes!" he exclaimed, "it doesn't make sense."

"Look," Leonard said, in his usual calm tone, "I'll help you this afternoon, ok?"

"Ok," Marco said, very relieved, "Thanks. That's twice today you've helped me out."

"More than twice," Leonard muttered, so Marco couldn't hear.

"You coming?" Michelle asked.

"Sure," Leonard replied, "bye guys."

"See you this afternoon," Marco said.

Michelle and Leonard parted from their friends and started to walk towards the school gates. On their way out of school grounds, they saw other friends and fellow students. Some were quickly visiting their lockers, before rushing home to do their homework. Others were catching the bus to the shops. They even saw Freddy being pulled along by Mr. Menai, the maths teacher. They were probably headed for the office.

Soon Michelle and Leonard were out of the school and walking along the narrow path to their houses.

"So," Michelle said, starting a conversation, "what have you got planned for this arvo?"

"Oh," Leonard replied, "Marco and I are going to Frankie's house. He's got a new computer game."

"Oh… That sounds like fun," Michelle said with a secret smile on her face.

"Oh no," Leonard said dramatically.

"What?"

"I've seen that look before"

"What look?"

"That dreamy look that you have if you're thinking about someone you really like. It's not Marco, is it?"

Michelle's stomach did a flip as she realised that Leonard had noticed her smiling. She thought she might as well try to deny it.

"No, I don't like Marco. I don't like anyone."

"Yes you do. I know that look. Last time you were smiling like that was last year when you were watching Freddy at band practice. And I know for a fact that you liked him then. So, who is it?"

Michelle sighed, knowing there was no way she could get out of this. Leonard was just one of those people who knew everyone really well. He knew how they reacted to certain things and what their expressions meant. It was good for Leonard, not so good for everyone else.

"Fine… it's Frankie."

Leonard looked at her for a minute, eyebrows raised. Then he suddenly burst out laughing.

"Hey, cut that out. It's not funny. Just because you can't see how wonderful and kind he is. And he's not too bad looking…"

"Ok, ok, I didn't need to know that." Leonard was still sniggering occasionally.

"Promise you won't tell anyone."

"Hey, that wasn't part of the deal."

"Leonard!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever."

The two teenagers had reached Leonard's house.

"Guess I'll see you later," Leonard said, acting like Michelle had not just told him her biggest secret.

"Ok, bye"

Michelle walked away, deep in thought. Even though Leonard was good friends with Frankie, he wouldn't betray her secret. Or would he?

MARCO

"Pick you up at 7.00, honey," called Marco's mum from her car.

"Ok, mum," he called back.

As his mother drove off, Marco walked up to Frankie's front door. Frankie lived on Newsteed St, the same street as Marta. His house was quite small compared to some, but also quite large. The house had three bedrooms, one of which had been turned into a study filled with the latest computers. Frankie's dad was into all the modern technology, so their house always contained huge television sets, new electronic games and some unusual gadgets.

Marco pressed the doorbell, which promptly blared out 'YOU HAVE A VISITOR!' After hearing the booming doorbell, Marco was so startled he tripped over whilst trying to run away. The front door creaked open to reveal Frankie and Leonard. They burst into laughter at the sight of Marco sprawled on the ground.

"Quit it!" Marco said, very annoyed, "it's not funny."

"Sorry about that," Frankie said, fighting back a chuckle, "that's Dad's latest toy." Marco got up and brushed himself off, still wearing an annoyed expression.

"Cheer up, Marco," Leonard said, "come inside. I've got some news that will make both of you laugh."

The boys headed inside and went straight to Frankie's bedroom. Frankie shut the door behind them and locked it.

"My parents have a habit of listen in on my conversations," Frankie explained.

"Don't all parents?" Leonard asked. Frankie shrugged and sat down on his bed, next to Marco.

"Come on, Leonard," Marco said, "what's the big news?"

"Oh right," Leonard said with a mischievous grin, "get this. I was walking home with Michelle and…"

"You asked her out?" Marco asked.

"No," Leonard continued, "we were just talking and she had this dreamy smile on her face…"

"She likes you?" Marco interrupted.

"No!" Leonard yelled, "Marco, will you shut up and let me finish?"

"Sorry," Marco murmured.

"Ok," Leonard proceeded, "she had this smile that she only has if she likes someone. And I questioned her about it and guess who she likes."

Marco and Frankie gave him blank stares.

"Frankie!" Leonard cried.

FRANKIE

Marco and Leonard burst into laughter, while Frankie sat quietly. Leonard stopped laughing after a bit, but Marco was laughing so hard that he fell off the bed.

"Come on, Marco," Leonard said, "it's not that funny." Marco bit his lip to stop himself from laughing.

"Yes it is," he said, trying to control himself, "because I was talking to Eleni on the bus and she said that she likes Frankie." Leonard and Marco began laughing harder than ever. Frankie was still sitting quietly, wishing that they would stop. It wasn't funny, it was horrible. Michelle and Eleni were his best friends and one of them was going to get hurt. Leonard noticed Frankie and immediately stopped laughing. He then kicked Marco, who also stopped laughing.

"What's up, man?" Leonard asked.

"Well… it's just that…" Frankie stuttered. He had no idea how to tell his friends the secret he had never told anyone.

"Spit it out," Marco said.

"I… kind of… like M… Michelle," Frankie finally managed to stamper.

"Oh…" Marco said, unsure of how else to reply.

"Well, that's a good thing then," Leonard said, "now you know Michelle likes you and you can ask her out." Leonard always knew what to say and how to handle people.

"But what about Eleni?" Frankie asked, "she's my friend. I don't want to hurt her."

"You're going to have to, mate," Leonard said, "I'm sure she'll understand. After all, you can't force yourself to like her."

"Yeah," Marco added, trying to be helpful.

"I guess you're right," Frankie said, "like always. I just wish there was an easier way."

"Don't worry," Leonard said, "we'll help you."

Frankie smiled, happy that Leonard and Marco were his friends. Now all he had to do was find a way to ask Michelle out, while hurting Eleni as little as possible.

ALICIA

Alicia sat on her comfortable bed, crying. She needed to talk to someone. Her best friend. She picked up the phone beside her bed. She dialled the number slowly, wiping back tears.

"Hello?" answered the voice on the other end.

"Hey Tomika," Alicia said, trying to sound happy.

"Alicia? Are you ok? You sound a bit upset."

Alicia smiled a bit. She couldn't hide anything from her friend.

"Yeah, I'm ok. I just need to talk."

"Have you been crying?"

"… Yes."

"Oh, Alicia. What's wrong?"

"I was just talking to Gordon. I asked if he wanted to catch a movie with me tomorrow. Just the two of us."

"What did he say?"

"He said that he had work to do."

"So ask him to go a different day."

"I did. He said that he didn't have enough time."

"Oh…"

"And maybe this is selfish, but I was looking forward to going out somewhere with him. You know, like couples are supposed to do. We've been going out for 6 months and we've hardly ever gone out anywhere. He brings me roses every second day, but I'd rather go out to the movies then get a million roses. I mean, where am I going to put all of them?"

"Alicia, that's not selfish. Maybe he's just scared about going out."

"But he's the one who asked me out in the first place!"

"I know, but you know guys. They're a bit weird sometimes."

"Yeah…"

"Look, just give it some time. Gordon is a smart guy. He's sure to realise what he's missing soon enough."

"Tomika, I've given it heaps of time!"

"Then talk to him about it. Tell him what you told me. When he finds out that he's upsetting you, I'm sure he'll move Heaven and Earth to make time for you."

"Ok… thanks Tomika."

"What are friends for? Look, I've got to go now. My sister wants to use the phone."

"Ok, see you tomorrow."

"Bye."


End file.
